I'm absolutely loving the progressive left-wing melt-down over Tucker Carlson's use of Twitter to reach his audience and fans. I'm also loving Fox News' ridiculous attempts to threaten him with legal action if he doesn't stop.
It was Fox, of course, who took him off the air while continuing to pay him according to his contract, in a deliberate attempt to keep him off the air until after the elections next year. Well, that's backfired on them spectacularly. He's not "on the air" in the sense of being broadcast by a TV or cable news network, and he's not being paid for airing a private podcast on Twitter on a regular basis, so I can't see how Fox can stop him in legal terms. After all, you or I could do precisely what Tucker's doing: put together our own private televised podcast and send it out over Twitter, so that anyone who wants can play it back or retweet it. That's called "free speech". It's protected under the First Amendment to the US Constitution. If Tucker's not being paid to do it (he isn't, as far as I know), and he isn't sending it out over media or entertainment channels (and Twitter is neither), and if his contract with Fox News doesn't circumscribe his free speech rights (AFAIK, it doesn't), then what is Fox going to do about it? The very fact that they didn't immediately seek a court injunction to stop him shows clearly that they're in a legal quandary. If the law had been on their side, they'd have done so instanter.
Best of all, because Fox is still paying him according to his (very lucrative) contract, Tucker doesn't have to charge anyone to view his work on Twitter. He can afford to do it free, gratis and for nothing, thanks to the same people who censored him in the first place! Oh, the irony...
Other pundits have pointed out the reality of the situation.
Brandon Straka pointed out that Carlson's set is precisely what Americans want.
"He writes his 10-15 minute monologues himself - EVERY NIGHT. The guy is a one-of-a-kind genius. Who gives AF if he uses a teleprompter to deliver HIS OWN material?" Straka tweeted.
Liberal crybaby Taylor Lorenz also tried — and failed — to dismantle Carlson.
"It's wild to see what a fish out of water he is on the internet: no jump cuts, no background music, no catchy thumbnail or video title. Not sure how he's going to stack up against even an average streamer or Youtuber," she tweeted.
However, Conservative political commentator Benny Johnson explained why Carlson's no-frills show — just good honest reporting — would be a success.
"Tucker broke the corporate media monopoly matrix tonight & it's never coming back," Johnson tweeted. "Tucker uploaded a 10 min monologue. No ads or interruptions. No pricy subscriptions. Watch on demand. The result? – 17M views – 90K RTs – 25K comments. In under 180 mins. We are the media now."
There's more at the link.
I'm sure Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, is also laughing all the way to the bank. With one of the biggest names in American news media and political opinion now using Twitter to reach his audience, it's the best boost for Twitter's ratings and advertising draw-power that anyone could possibly have wished. It's shifted Twitter from being just a social media network to being a major power in shaping and forming the opinions of Mr. and Mrs. Average American - and the powers that be are melting down about that. The last thing they want is an alternative to the lock-step propaganda served up by our news and social media. Now, in Tucker Carlson on Twitter, that alternative is alive and well - and its popularity shows very clearly that most of us are fed up with the status quo, and are looking for alternatives.
Thank you, Tucker Carlson, and thank you, Elon Musk. I'm going to make a lot of popcorn as the next elections approach, and sit back and watch the fun.
Peter
That is awesome. I never did Twitter. Probably still won't. But it makes me think..
ReplyDeleteFox's legal gambit in re Carlson's Twitter account reminded me back when CCR broke up and the lead singer started going solo. The music studio filed a lawsuit against him, claiming he sounded too much like CCR's lead singer.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, a lot of popcorn
ReplyDeleteThis has likely already been gamed out and planned for. If the PTB are willing to do the covid and globullwarmcolding scams, they'll crash the internet and the markets too.
ReplyDeleteStefan v.
Would be no surprise to see a public campaign to "regulate" social media or declare social media to be broadcast media companies now that Twitter is out of the control of the radical left.
ReplyDeleteNow if Tucker and Elon could figure a way to conduct fair and honest elections we might have a chance at freeing ourselves from the stranglehold the ruling liberal elite have over us....
ReplyDeleteWell, he owns starlink, a communication facility largely uncontrolled by ground-based switching facilities if you wanted to run it independently. He owns Twitter which is a fairly independent communications medium that could run over starlink giving him a really independent path of communication. What if he set up a voting program with really good authentication and ran a parallel election. Not official, but if 90 million verified voters showed up voting for say Trump, while the official results only showed 60 million, might that give one pause about election integrity?
Deletehere I am back in grade school. The wise guy kid in back is mercilessly mocking the "Karen" teacher. All us kids can hear him but she can't. So now the leftist Karen is melting down in front of everyone. The tears roll as we snicker and laugh while she storms out of the room. Tucker crosses his arms then leans back with a twinkle in his eye and a grin from ear to ear.. heh can't wait till tomorrow
ReplyDeleteIt was a good monolog! Short and to the point!
ReplyDeleteTucker was wealthy before Fox News. His middle name is Swanson, yes, that Swanson family. His mother is a Swanson. Old eastern seaboard money.
ReplyDeleteBut the $20 million that Fox News is paying him annually should help with the bills.